Perceptual Learning and Decision-Making in Human Medial Frontal Cortex

Thorsten Kahnt*, Marcus Grueschow, Oliver Speck, John Dylan Haynes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

142 Scopus citations

Abstract

The dominant view that perceptual learning is accompanied by changes in early sensory representations has recently been challenged. Here we tested the idea that perceptual learning can be accounted for by reinforcement learning involving changes in higher decision-making areas. We trained subjects on an orientation discrimination task involving feedback over 4 days, acquiring fMRI data on the first and last day. Behavioral improvements were well explained by a reinforcement learning model in which learning leads to enhanced readout of sensory information, thereby establishing noise-robust representations of decision variables. We find stimulus orientation encoded in early visual and higher cortical regions such as lateral parietal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, only activity patterns in the ACC tracked changes in decision variables during learning. These results provide strong evidence for perceptual learning-related changes in higher order areas and suggest that perceptual and reward learning are based on a common neurobiological mechanism.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)549-559
Number of pages11
JournalNeuron
Volume70
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 12 2011

Funding

We thank R. Körbs for technical assistance. This work was funded by the Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB 779 A3) of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [DFG]), the Bernstein Computational Neuroscience Program of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [BMBF] Grant 01GQ0411), the Excellence Initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (DFG Grant GSC86/1- 2009), and the Max Planck Society.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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